Video footage captures theft of Baltimore doctor's Israeli flag: "a heinous, depraved act"
BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore City doctor says an Israeli flag was torn down and stolen outside his office while the rest of the flags remained untouched.
This is the second time something like this has happened to him since October of last year when the conflict between Israel and Hamas began.
After the office closed on Friday, Dr. John Parkerson says his Israeli flag was torn down and stolen at his North Baltimore practice on Falls Road again, and it was all caught on security camera video.
"Heinous, depraved" act
"It's just a heinous, depraved act," Dr. Parkerson told WJZ. "It's horrible. I feel horrible, because it was just an effort to show care and respect for the Jewish community."
Outside of the practice, there are several flags that have flown for years, including the Maryland State flag, Scottish flag, and U.S. flag. Prior to adding the Israeli flag, Dr. Parkerson displayed a Baltimore City flag.
He put up the Israeli flag in October 2023 after tensions in the Middle East came to a tipping point and the war between Israel and Hamas began. The flag was torn down shortly after that and thrown in the bushes, marking the first time the flag was removed. After that, he installed security cameras, and now caught a second incident.
"I was able to salvage the flag and put it back up on the flagpole. And everything has been fine for the last seven or eight months until Friday afternoon," Dr. Parkerson said.
Police investigating stolen Israeli flag
Baltimore City Police are investigating the destruction of property case, but not as a hate crime.
Gov. Wes Moore spoke at the opening for Third Space, a new Jewish life and learning center in Baltimore City.
"There's a power in the idea that we are all God's children. There's a power in the idea that by definition, it means that we're all brothers and sisters," Moore said. "The only thing god asks is then we act accordingly, and we take care of each other."
"Just expressing support"
Dr. Parkerson says he just wants his flag back and an apology for the person who tore it down. He explained that the flag was not meant to hurt anyone and just meant to show respect.
"It could have been a Ukrainian flag. It could have been a Black Lives Matter flag. It could have been a POW MIA flag. It wasn't meant to show any disrespect to anybody," Dr. Parkerson added. "It's just expressing support for the for the Jewish and Israeli community."
He plans on putting a new Israeli flag up this week. He says he's flown various flags here for decades and doesn't plan on changing that anytime soon.
